Great Joshua MacIver has formally declared his intention to contest the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship ticket ahead of the November 2027 off-cycle election in Bayelsa State.
MacIver communicated his ambition in a letter addressed to the Bayelsa State PDP State Working Committee (SWC), where he stressed that competence and experience, rather than zoning, should determine the party’s choice of candidate.
“I firmly believe that the people of Bayelsa State deserve a leader who prioritises effectiveness, the welfare of our people, and the development of our state,” MacIver stated.
As part of his efforts to rebuild and reposition the PDP in the state, MacIver pledged to donate N70 million monthly to the party, beginning in August 2026.
MacIver, who served as the All Progressives Congress (APC) deputy governorship candidate in the 2023 Bayelsa governorship election, recently defected from the APC to the PDP.
He said his decision to leave the APC followed what he described as the sidelining of himself and other party leaders by Governor Douye Diri after the governor’s defection from the PDP to the APC.
MacIver previously served as chairman of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area under the PDP before joining the APC, where he became the running mate to former Bayelsa State governor and immediate past Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, in the 2023 governorship election.
When he was received into the PDP in April 2026, MacIver predicted that more APC members dissatisfied with Governor Diri’s leadership would eventually defect to the PDP.
He said the APC had been divided into two factions before Diri’s defection, with the larger faction allegedly sidelined after the governor joined the party.
According to MacIver, the larger faction accounted for about 95 per cent of APC members in the state, while the faction aligned with the governor represented about five per cent.
He further claimed that about 90 per cent of the larger faction could eventually move to the PDP.
MacIver maintained that the governor’s defection from the PDP was also not accompanied by a significant number of former PDP members, arguing that political influence in Bayelsa is largely determined by the positive impact leaders have on their communities.
He said, “Before the governor’s defection, we had two factions in APC, and that is nothing but the simple truth. The two factions, one faction was like 95% of members. The other faction was just like 5%.”
MacIver added that the majority faction had been abandoned following the governor’s decision to work with the smaller group, saying, “90% of that 95% would defect to PDP.”
